Lorisoidea is a superfamily of nocturnal primates. Members of this superfamily are called lorisoids, and include lorises, angwantibos, pottos, galagos, and bushbabies. Lorisoidea is one of two superfamilies that form the suborder Strepsirrhini, itself one of two suborders in the order Primates. They are found in Asia and Africa, generally in forests, though some species can be found in shrublands and savannas. They range in size from the Prince Demidoff's bushbaby, at 10 cm (4 in) plus a 15 cm (6 in) tail, to the West African potto, at 39 cm (15 in) plus a 10 cm (4 in) tail. Lorisoids primarily eat fruit, insects, and tree gums and resins. Most lorisoids do not have population estimates, but the ones that do range from 40 mature individuals to 500,000. Six species are categorized as endangered: the Bengal, pygmy, Sumatran, and Sunda slow lorises, the red slender loris, and the Rondo dwarf galago. A further two species are categorized as critically endangered: the Bangka slow loris and the Javan slow loris.
The thirty-five extant species of Lorisoidea are divided into two families: Galagidae, containing nineteen bushbaby and galago species divided between six genera, and Lorisidae, containing sixteen species divided between the three genera in the loris subfamily Lorisinae and the two genera of the angwantibo and potto subfamily Perodicticinae. Several extinct prehistoric lorisoid species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed. [1]
Conservation status | |
---|---|
EX | Extinct (0 species) |
EW | Extinct in the wild (0 species) |
CR | Critically Endangered (2 species) |
EN | Endangered (6 species) |
VU | Vulnerable (4 species) |
NT | Near threatened (7 species) |
LC | Least concern (15 species) |
Other categories | |
DD | Data deficient (1 species) |
NE | Not evaluated (0 species) |
Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the lorisoid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct genera, species, or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "†".
The superfamily Lorisoidea consists of two extant families: Galagidae and Lorisidae. Galagidae contains nineteen species in six genera, while Lorisidae is divided into two subfamilies: Lorisinae, containing eleven species divided between three genera, and Perodicticinae, containing five species divided between two genera.
Family Galagidae
Family Lorisidae
The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists. [4]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Northern needle-clawed bushbaby | E. pallidus (Gray, 1863) Two subspecies
| Western equatorial Africa | Size: 18–33 cm (7–13 in) long, plus 28–31 cm (11–12 in) tail [5] Habitat: Forest [6] Diet: Tree gums and resins [6] | NT
|
Southern needle-clawed bushbaby | E. elegantulus (Conte, 1857) | Western equatorial Africa | Size: 21–24 cm (8–9 in) long, plus 28–32 cm (11–13 in) tail [7] Habitat: Forest [8] Diet: Tree and liana gums and resins, as well as invertebrates [8] | LC
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
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Dusky bushbaby | G. matschiei Liburnau, 1917 | Central Africa | Size: 14–19 cm (6–7 in) long, plus 24–28 cm (9–11 in) tail [9] Habitat: Forest [10] Diet: Insects, fruit, flowers, and gum [9] | LC
|
Mohol bushbaby | G. moholi Smith, 1836 | Central and southern Africa | Size: 14–17 cm (6–7 in) long, plus 11–28 cm (4–11 in) tail [11] Habitat: Savanna [12] Diet: Arthropods, as well as tree gum and resin [11] | LC
|
Senegal bushbaby | G. senegalensis É Geoffroy, 1796 Four subspecies
| Equatorial Africa (possible additional range in red) | Size: 13–21 cm (5–8 in) long, plus 19–30 cm (7–12 in) tail [5] Habitat: Forest and savanna [13] Diet: Insects, as well as small birds, eggs, fruits, seeds, flowers, and tree gum [14] | LC
|
Somali bushbaby | G. gallarum Thomas, 1901 | Eastern Africa | Size: 13–20 cm (5–8 in) long, plus 20–30 cm (8–12 in) tail [5] Habitat: Savanna [15] Diet: Gum and invertebrates [5] | LC
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Angolan dwarf galago | G. kumbirensis Svensson et al., 2017 | Angola in southwestern Africa | Size: 14–18 cm (6–7 in) long, plus 17–21 cm (7–8 in) tail [16] Habitat: Forest and shrubland [17] Diet: Unknown [16] | NT
|
Prince Demidoff's bushbaby | G. demidoff Fischer von Waldheim, 1806 | Western and central equatorial Africa | Size: 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 15–21 cm (6–8 in) tail [18] Habitat: Forest [19] Diet: Insects, as well as fruit and gum [18] | LC
|
Thomas's bushbaby | G. thomasi Elliot, 1907 | Western and central equatorial Africa | Size: 12–17 cm (5–7 in) long, plus 15–24 cm (6–9 in) tail [20] Habitat: Forest [21] Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates, fruit, and tree buds, leaves, and gum [20] | LC
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brown greater galago | O. crassicaudatus É Geoffroy, 1812 Three subspecies
| Southern Africa | Size: 29–38 cm (11–15 in) long, plus 41–48 cm (16–19 in) tail [22] Habitat: Forest, savanna, and shrubland [23] Diet: Gum and sap, as well as fruit and insects [22] | LC
|
Northern greater galago | O. garnettii (Ogilby, 1838) Four subspecies
| Eastern Africa | Size: 23–34 cm (9–13 in) long, plus about 36 cm (14 in) tail [24] Habitat: Forest [25] Diet: Fruit and insects [24] | LC
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Grant's bushbaby | P. granti (Thomas & Wroughton, 1907) | Southeastern Africa | Size: 14–19 cm (6–7 in) long, plus 20–27 cm (8–11 in) tail [5] Habitat: Forest [26] Diet: Invertebrates, fruit, gum, and flowers, as well as small birds [26] | LC
|
Kenya coast galago | P. cocos Heller, 1912 | Southeastern Africa | Size: 14–19 cm (6–7 in) long, plus 18–23 cm (7–9 in) tail [5] Habitat: Forest [27] Diet: Insects and fruit [28] | LC
|
Rondo dwarf galago | P. rondoensis Honess, 1997 | Scattered Tanzania in southeastern Africa | Size: 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 17–18 cm (7 in) tail [28] Habitat: Forest [29] Diet: Insects, as well as fruit and gum [28] | EN
|
Uluguru bushbaby | P. orinus Lawrence & Washburn, 1936 | Southeastern Africa | Size: 12–14 cm (5–6 in) long, plus 16–20 cm (6–8 in) tail [5] Habitat: Forest [30] Diet: Gum, nectar, invertebrates, and small vertebrates [5] | VU
|
Zanzibar bushbaby | P. zanzibaricus (Matschie, 1893) Two subspecies
| Scattered Tanzania | Size: 14–15 cm (6–6 in) long, plus 12–15 cm (5–6 in) tail [31] Habitat: Forest [32] Diet: Fruit, insects, and gum [31] | NT
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bioko Allen's bushbaby | S. alleni (Waterhouse, 1838) Two subspecies
| Western equatorial Africa | Size: 15–24 cm (6–9 in) long, plus 20–30 cm (8–12 in) tail [5] Habitat: Forest [33] Diet: Fruit, as well as insects and small mammals [34] | NT
|
Gabon bushbaby | S. gabonensis Gray, 1863 | Western equatorial Africa | Size: 18–21 cm (7–8 in) long, plus 23–28 cm (9–11 in) tail [28] Habitat: Forest [35] Diet: Arthropods, insects, fruit, and gum [36] | LC
|
Makandé squirrel galago | S. makandensis Ambrose, 2013 | Gabon in western equatorial Africa | Size: Unknown [28] Habitat: Forest [37] Diet: Unknown [28] | DD
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gray slender loris | L. lydekkerianus A. Cabrera, 1908 Four subspecies
| Southern India and Sri Lanka | Size: 18–22 cm (7–9 in) long, with no tail [38] Habitat: Forest [39] Diet: Insects [40] | NT
|
Red slender loris | L. tardigradus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Sri Lanka | Size: 18–26 cm (7–10 in) long, with no tail [41] Habitat: Forest [42] Diet: Insects, as well as tree frogs, geckos, small birds, eggs, and fruit [41] | EN
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bangka slow loris | N. bancanus (Lyon, 1906) | Borneo and Bangka Islands in southeastern Asia | Size: About 26 cm (10 in) long, with no tail [43] Habitat: Forest [44] Diet: Insects, gum, nectar, and fruit [45] | CR
|
Bengal slow loris | N. bengalensis (Lacépède, 1800) | Southeastern Asia | Size: 26–38 cm (10–15 in) long, with vestigial tail [46] Habitat: Forest [47] Diet: Resin and gum, as well as nectar, fruit, invertebrates, bark, and bird eggs [46] | EN
|
Bornean slow loris | N. borneanus (Lyon, 1906) | Borneo | Size: About 26 cm (10 in) long, with no tail [43] Habitat: Forest [48] Diet: Insects, gum, nectar, and fruit [49] | VU
|
Javan slow loris | N. javanicus É Geoffroy, 1812 | Java in southeastern Asia | Size: 28–31 cm (11–12 in) long, with vestigial tail [50] Habitat: Forest [51] Diet: Nectar, gum, insects, fruit, lizards, and eggs [50] | CR
|
Kayan River slow loris | N. kayan Munds, Nekaris, Ford, 2013 | Borneo | Size: About 27 cm (11 in) long, with no tail [43] Habitat: Forest [52] Diet: Unknown [53] | VU
|
Philippine slow loris | N. menagensis Lydekker, 1893 | Borneo and nearby islands | Size: About 27 cm (11 in) long, with no tail [43] Habitat: Forest [54] Diet: Insects, nectar, gum, and fruit [55] | VU
|
Sumatran slow loris | N. hilleri (Stone and Rehn, 1902) | Sumatra in southeastern Asia | Size: 26–30 cm (10–12 in) long, with no tail [56] Habitat: Forest [57] Diet: Insects, nectar, gum, and fruit [57] | EN
|
Sunda slow loris | N. coucang (Boddaert, 1785) | Southeastern Asia | Size: 27–38 cm (11–15 in) long, with no tail [58] Habitat: Forest [59] Diet: Sap, gum, nectar, stems, and fruit, as well as arthropods and insects [58] | EN
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
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Pygmy slow loris | X. pygmaeus (Bonhote, 1907) | Southeastern Asia | Size: 15–25 cm (6–10 in) long, with no tail [60] Habitat: Forest [61] Diet: Insects, gum, resin, fruit, and bamboo [60] | EN
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Calabar angwantibo | A. calabarensis (Smith, 1860) | Western equatorial Africa | Size: 22–31 cm (9–12 in) long, plus 4–10 cm (2–4 in) tail [62] Habitat: Forest [63] Diet: Insects, as well as fruit and gum [62] | NT
|
Golden angwantibo | A. aureus de Winton, 1902 | Western equatorial Africa | Size: 22–26 cm (9–10 in) long, plus vestigial tail [64] Habitat: Forest [65] Diet: Insects and fruit [65] | LC
|
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Central African potto | P. edwarsi Bouvier, 1879 | Central Africa | Size: 30–37 cm (12–15 in) long, plus 3–7 cm (1–3 in) tail [66] Habitat: Forest [67] Diet: Gum, insects, snails and fruit [67] | LC
|
East African potto | P. ibeanus Thomas, 1910 Two subspecies
| East central Africa | Size: 29–37 cm (11–15 in) long, plus 4–10 cm (2–4 in) tail [66] Habitat: Forest [68] Diet: Fruit, gum, nectar, and invertebrates, as well as moss, frogs, and eggs [68] | LC
|
West African potto | P. potto (Müller, 1766) | Western equatorial Africa | Size: 30–39 cm (12–15 in) long, plus 3–10 cm (1–4 in) tail [69] Habitat: Forest [70] Diet: Fruit, arthropods, insects, and eggs, as well as small vertebrates [69] | NT
|
Lorisidae is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorisids are all slim arboreal animals and comprise the lorises, pottos and angwantibos. Lorisids live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia.
Erythrocebus is a genus of Old World monkey. All three species in this genus are found in Africa, and are known as patas monkeys. While previously considered a monotypic genus containing just E. patas, a 2017 review argued that, based on morphological evidence and heavy geographic separation between taxa, E. patas should be split back into distinct species as recognised in the 19th century.
Lesser bushbabies, or lesser galagos, are strepsirrhine primates of the genus Galago. They are classified, along with the other bushbaby and galago genera in the family Galagidae. They are probably the most numerous primate in Africa, and can be found in every large forest on the continent, inhabiting forested areas, savannas, riverine bush and open woodlands.
The needle-clawed bushbabies are the two species in the genus Euoticus, which is in the family Galagidae. Galagidae is sometimes included as a subfamily within the Lorisidae.
The greater galagos or thick-tailed bushbabies are three species of strepsirrhine primates. They are classified in the genus Otolemur in the family Galagidae.
The guenons are Old World monkeys of the genus Cercopithecus. Not all members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names; also, because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have common names that include the word "guenon". Nonetheless, the use of the term guenon for monkeys of this genus is widely accepted.
Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines in the east, and from Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south. Although many previous classifications recognized as few as a single all-inclusive species, there are now at least eight that are considered valid: the Sunda slow loris (N. coucang), Bengal slow loris (N. bengalensis), Javan slow loris (N. javanicus), Philippine slow loris (N. menagensis), Bangka slow loris (N. bancanus), Bornean slow loris (N. borneanus), Kayan River slow loris (N. kayan) and Sumatran slow loris. A ninth species, the pygmy slow loris (X. pygmaeus), was recently moved to the new genus Xanthonycticebus. After the pygmy slow loris, the group's closest relatives are the slender lorises of southern India and Sri Lanka. Their next closest relatives are the African lorisids, the pottos, false pottos, and angwantibos. They are less closely related to the remaining lorisoids, and more distantly to the lemurs of Madagascar. Their evolutionary history is uncertain since their fossil record is patchy and molecular clock studies have given inconsistent results.
The white-eyelid mangabeys are African Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Cercocebus. They are characterized by their bare upper eyelids, which are lighter than their facial skin colouring, and the uniformly coloured hairs of the fur. The other two genera of mangabeys, Lophocebus and Rungwecebus, were once thought to be very closely related to Cercocebus, so much so that all the species were placed in one genus, but Lophocebus and Rungwecebus species are now understood to be more closely related to the baboons in genus Papio, while the Cercocebus species are more closely related to the mandrill.
The slender lorises (Loris) are a genus of loris native to India and Sri Lanka. The genus comprises two species, the red slender loris found in Sri Lanka and the gray slender loris from Sri Lanka and India. Slender lorises spend most of their life in trees, traveling along the tops of branches with slow and precise movements. They are found in tropical rainforests, scrub forests, semi-deciduous forests, and swamps. The primates have lifespans of approximately 15 years and are nocturnal. Slender lorises generally feed on insects, reptiles, plant shoots, and fruit.
Bioko Allen's bushbaby, also known as the Bioko squirrel galago, is a species of primate in the galago family found in Cameroon, Nigeria, and the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. The bushbaby is currently near-threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The western dwarf galagos are a group of three species of strepsirrhine primates, native to western and central Africa. They are classified in the genus Galagoides of the family Galagidae. The eastern dwarf galagos have been moved to their own genus, Paragalago, based on genetic evidence and differences in vocalization. The two genera are not sister taxa and thus may have evolved their small sizes via parallel evolution. They are separated by the East African Rift.
The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates is a list of highly endangered primate species selected and published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Primate Specialist Group (PSG), the International Primatological Society (IPS), Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), and Bristol Zoological Society (BZS). The IUCN/SSC PSG worked with Conservation International (CI) to start the list in 2000, but in 2002, during the 19th Congress of the International Primatological Society, primatologists reviewed and debated the list, resulting in the 2002–2004 revision and the endorsement of the IPS. The publication was a joint project between the three conservation organizations until the 2012–2014 list when BZS was added as a publisher. The 2018–2020 list was the first time Conservation International was not among the publishers, replaced instead by GWC. The list has been revised every two years following the biannual Congress of the IPS. Starting with the 2004–2006 report, the title changed to "Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates". That same year, the list began to provide information about each species, including their conservation status and the threats they face in the wild. The species text is written in collaboration with experts from the field, with 60 people contributing to the 2006–2008 report and 85 people contributing to the 2008–2010 report. The 2004–2006 and 2006–2008 reports were published in the IUCN/SSC PSG journal Primate Conservation,, since then they have been published as independent publications.
The squirrel galagos are a group of four species of strepsirrhine primates. They are classified in the genus Sciurocheirus of the family Galagidae.
The Angolan dwarf galago is a species of dwarf galago native to Angola, and was named after western Angolan Kumbira Forest. Though 36 individuals of the Angolan dwarf galago were identified in September 2013, it was declared as a new species in 2017, and is now the nineteenth species of galago to be identified. Its call, described as "A loud chirping crescendo of longer notes, followed by a fading twitter", was enough to separate it as a new species, without any genetic identification, due to its uniqueness.
The eastern dwarf galagos are a group of five species of strepsirrhine primates of the family Galagidae, native to East Africa. They were formerly classified in the genus Galagoides but have been moved to their own genus, Paragalago, based on genetic evidence, and supported by differences in vocalizations and morphology. The three western/Congolian species remain in Galagoides.
The Sumatran slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris that is native to Sumatra.